When I decided to take a year off of my undergrad, I knew I had to find a job that I would enjoy because I’d have to do it for at least a year. However, I did not know that the job I would choose would kickstart my career and help me decide what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
Becoming an EA changed my life, and I want to tell you about my experiences and how it led me toward becoming a teacher…
My first ever EA experience was at Heritage Elementary. I was covering a medical leave and got to work with an amazing student in the third grade. The classroom that I worked in, however, was a little different from all the other classrooms; it was a team-teaching classroom, so there was double the number of students. Although I was one on one with a student for the majority of the time, I was the only EA in the classroom, so evidently, I would end up helping any student that needed help with a main focus on my student. With this being my first job as an educational assistant, I was beyond terrified that I did not know what I was doing, but as time went on, I became super comfortable in the classroom, and that’s when I made the decision that I belonged in the classroom and began my journey towards trying to get into the BEd program.
My second EA position was at Malaspina Elementary. Here I went from being an EA that was attached to one student to being an EA that bounced around different classrooms throughout the day. Because I was not posted in one specific classroom for the whole day, I got the ability to get to know and build a relationship with all of the students. By the end of the year, every student at the school knew Miss T. Not only was this position different from the one at Heritage, but I was also attending courses while working, and that created a whole new level of stress for me. However, with perseverance and a lot of coffee, I managed to successfully finish my courses and the school year on a good note.
My last position as an EA before getting into the BEd program was at Polaris Montessori Elementary. This position was in one classroom that contained students from Grade 4 to Grade 7. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “How on earth can there be 4-grade levels in one classroom?” Well, that was why this school was astonishing to me. This school practiced the Montessori method, each classroom contained 4 different grades because the students were meant to learn at their own pace. I was there to help each student with whatever they needed. This allowed me to develop a relationship with each individual student, and when I found out that I got into the BEd program, the students were so happy and excited with me that they threw me a party and explained to me why they thought that I would make a good teacher. The relationship that I had with these students was unbreakable, and they made me realize that I was making the right decision in becoming a teacher.
Becoming an EA was only meant to be the job that I did while I took the year off of school. Little did I know that it was going to be the reason that I am where I am today, in the program that I am in today.